Tag Archives: suburbs

Cities, suburbs

Whose Suburbs Are We Talking About Again?

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Suburbs, Virginia (6045440309)

One of my pet peeves in reading through the various press on metropolitan areas is when the notion of suburb (and on occasion urban)  is mislabeled. This happens one of two ways, when an incorporated town, and sometimes city is labeled a suburb and when suburb is used as a euphemism for white American.

I can give people who mislabel the first way a pass. Suburbs are just classified differently in the NYC and DC areas. Montgomery County is a county of neighborhoods. Arlington is really a county. But I’m sorry,  Alexandria, the city, actually predates the District of Columbia by 42 years. Yes, it became part of the district for a period of time, but not without a fight and not without later leaving the district. Meanwhile, down in North Carolina, our friend Cary is forever being mislabeled. Yes, it’s a city of many subdivisions. However, it has never been part of Raleigh and is the seventh largest city in North Carolina. Speaking of cities in North Carolina, there are several that have been labeled as neighborhoods and are actually fairly large towns.  Take one glance of Wikipedia’s Census-fortified list of North Carolina municipalities and you may notice a few names you thought were just holes in the wall that became classy Charlotte and Raleigh suburbs overnight. You may also notice that there are two cities you may have not heard of, but encompass a 1.1 million person metro area of its own (Points to self and map of the Triad region).

But enough of this kind of snark. Let me get to the real shade. Urban is not a race of people. Suburb is not a race of people. Rural is not a race of people. Say it as many times as you need to. Then, if you write articles like this that either by accident or lack of inclusiveness, imply that only one race of person moves to and from the suburbs, don’t be surprised if they get interpreted as attempts to be nice about labeling races, instead of true analyses of migration patterns.

Whew. That was a nice run-on sentence wasn’t it? Do come back tomorrow and learn how we can better label the metro areas we live in. In the meantime, if you want to learn what we are doing here in the many metro areas of North Carolina, click on the pretty shiny ad below.

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Cities, Family and Place, Issues and Ideas, Politics of Place, Transportation

Suburbs of Self-Hate?

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I’m seeing lately that communities of color are buying into suburban ideals that are actually hurting rather than helping the community. This article in the Atlantic Cities talks about how this has happened in some Asian communities in California and I’ve seen it firsthand in the Black community here in North Carolina. (Latino readers, I’m not going to speak for you here since I have no evidence, but I don’t doubt it happening there too).

What disturbed me the most about that article is that people were leaving the city because of bad schools and crime. It makes me ask, attends these schools and who committs those crimes? If these are our neighbors, are we giving up on our own people? I know race is arbitrary, but culture is not, nor is neighborliness.

I do understand the embarrassment, real safety risks involved in staying in certain neighborhoods, especially as a member of non-white group or even as a white person who’s been unfairly targeted for ridicule or persecution. I understand the feeling of entitlement once one has come upon a better social class and standing to move somewhere where the class is well known and celebrated. I know that it speaks to victory over ones oppressors to move on sometimes.

Yet, when will we take responsibility for what’s in our neighborhoods and stop running away when problems start? Are we sometimes holding the very same attitude as our oppressors?

Suburbia, in many cases, was built for purposes of isolation. I do understand that folks like nature and that’s well and good. However, the proliferation of gated communities (for average, non-celebrity Americans), zoning restrictions that assume malefeasance out of its citizenry, and even charter schools are doing more hurt than harm.

We have to realize that we have to take the good with the bad. If the man on the corner calling out crazy stuff is physically harming you, then yes, please report him to the authorities. That kid that’s bullying your child may actually be the victim. We actually need to question our children more, especially when they claim they are not learning or being bullied. Are we sure THEY aren’t mistreating fellow classmates or cheating on tests? If the problem is inside the four walls of your home, moving to a different place will not change it. In fact, you may find youself to be the new nuisance in your new neighborhood

I also understand wanting a more rural setting. But if you want that, consider an actual rural setting. Or, be mindful of other ways you can be environmentally friendly, such as growing food in your yard, carpooling, or lobbying for better, more connected infrastructure in your new neighborhood.

Please folks, stop this whole running away to the suburbs because of the Other. Look hard in the mirror and make sure the Other isn’t yourself. Stop hating yourself. The time is up for racializing our neighborhoods and this kind of “grass is greener” thinking.

Photo credit: flickr user Derek Bridges.